Brooke: I was just finishing up my last rotation in medical school when I met weight-loss expert and master trainer Thomas Tadlock, the most incredible human I’d ever encountered—gorgeous and also funny, caring, and brilliant. I didn’t believe in soulmates until I met him.

We fell in love fast, and within a month he was talking marriage, which was awesome, but then I had to bring up my illness. I had to tell him I wasn’t going to live to a very old age, I could never have children, and he was going to end up taking care of me before I die, as I would become handicapped from joint problems and other disabilities. He paused for a moment then said, “I’d rather have a short life with you than a lifetime with anybody else.” I replied, “Okay, let’s get married!” I...

This is an excerpt from an interview for the book Healing Happens: Stories of Healing Against All Odds.

Avital: Hello. Welcome. We have Dr. Brooke Goldner with us. She is the best-selling author of Goodbye Lupus and a board certified medical doctor. She's the founder of VeganMedicalDoctor.com and creator of the hyper-nourishing healing protocol for lupus recovery.

Dr. Brooke Goldner, would you tell the story of how you began havinghealth issues in childhood and what healed you.

Brooke: My story began when I was sixteen years old. I was a normal, nerdy kid enjoying my little group of friends, but weird things started to happen. I began having arthritis in different parts of my body, which is not typical of kids that age, and I couldn’t figure out why. I had a passing thought maybe it was from playing volleyball, but then I reminded myself that I mostly sat bench for volleyball, so that wasn’t a good explanation. At the same time, I...